Gasket seal for pipe joints



Oct. 27, 1953 J. R. VIRGIL 2,657,078

GASKET SEAL FOR PIPE JOINTs Filed Aug; 19, 1949 Jfy/ INVEN TOR.

John A. Virgil Patented Oct. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2Claims.

This invention relates to gasket seal for pipe joints. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to pipe ttings of the type employedin air brake systems and the like, and the invention has for an objectthe provision of improved gaskets and fittings and the provision of newand improved methods for quickly and permanently repairing and sealingairline fittings of standard construction that have become defectivethrough breakage of the pipe at the fittings.

There are presently available on the market, and in Wide use in airbrake systems, pipe iittings of the type known generally as reinforcediiange unions, such, for example, as the so-cal1ed Wabcotite fittingsemployed in the well known AB systems of the Westinghouse Air BrakeCompany. Such ttings may be employed in pairs to provide astraight-through union between two air pipes, or may be individuallyemployed to connect pipes to the various valves, cylinders, reservoirsand other component parts of the usual air brake system. In any eventthe iitting includes a flat body portion adapted to be bolted orotherwise securely fastened to a similar portion of another tting or toa flat surface l on the particular part to which the connection is beingmade, and the air pipe is threaded into the body portion, from whichextends a tubular reinforcing flange of somewhat larger internaldiameter than the air pipe. Threading the end of the pipe for connectionto the fitting inevitably produces a line of Weakness at the base of thethreaded portion, and since all of the components of an air brake systemare subjected to severe jars, shocks and vibration, breakage of the airpipes at or adjacent the fitting with the consequent failure orimpairment of operation of the system has been found to presenttroublesome problems.

In an attempt to prevent or minimize such breakage, the tubular anges infittings of the type referred to above are provided at the outer endsthereof with clamping and anchoring means for rigidly supporting thepipe at a point spaced from the line of weakness; but even when sosupported, breakage of the air pipe is still encountered. Repair of thebreak or replacement of the air pipe in accordance with presentpractices involves a complicated and laborious process requiring thecomplete disassembly of the fitting and the pipe, and it is therefore aparticular object of this invention to provide an improved method forrepairing and sealing pipe breaks occurring within such fittings withoutdisassembly of the pipe and the fitting, to provide a sealing gasketwhich may be employed in carrying out these improved methods, and toprovide an improved iitting employing such gaskets.

In carrying out the invention in one form, a sealing gasket is provided,comprising a substantially annular body of resilient material havingcontiguous end portions which are separable to permit disposition of thebody around a pipe and having a gate portion which extends axially fromthe body. More particularly, the gate portion has a radial widthsubstantially equal to that of the annular body, and has an axial Widthat least equal to the axial width of the split anchor ring which forms apart of the above described conventional tting. In effecting the repairof a fitting of this type in accordance with the method of the presentinvention, the clamping nut and the split anchor ring are removed fromthe tubular flange of the fitting body and slid along the pipe so thatthe resilient gasket may be disposed around the pipe with the gateportion extending into the space between the ends of the split an chorring. Thereupon the clamping nut is tightened down so as to compress thegasket and the anchor ring between the nut and the end of the ilange,whereby the gasket is uniformly forced j into airtight sealingengagement with the pipe and the flange throughout the entirecircumference thereof.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference should nowbe had to the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of a straight-throughunit employing a pair of conventional ttings of the type heretofore deiscribed;

Fig. 2 is a detail view on a somewhat larger scale of one of the splitanchor rings employed in the iittings of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are respectively front elevational, perspective andside elevational views, on the same scale as Fig. 2, of the improvedresilient gasket embodying the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. l showing one of the ttings of Fig. 1after it has been repaired in accordance with the present invention, themethod of effecting repair of the gasket being indicated by the brokenline positions of the various parts.

Referring rst to Fig. 1 of the drawing, a straight-through pipe unionhas been shown for purposes of illustration, which comprises a pair ofidentical pipe fittings f and Il of the rein- :torced iiange type wellknown in the art for connecting a pair of air pipes l2 and I3. Since thettings I8 and II are of identical construction., only the fitting l),which is tion, will be described in detail. This fitting lil includes afiat body portion I4 adapted to be secured in face-to-face relation tothe similar body portion of the tting il by suitable bolts I5 and nutsI6. As previously indicated, however, the fitting It may instead besecured to a iiat ported surface on a valve reservoir, cylinder or othercomponent part of an air brake system and, as shown, the face of thebody portion I4 is provided with a sealing gasket- Il for providing anair tight connection.

Centrally of the body portion I4A is'- a threadedY opening for receivingthe threaded end. of. the pipe I2 and a tubular flange I8 is providedex'- tending outwardly from the body portion t4i in. spaced relation tothe pipe I2. The flange IB is provided with external threads I9, asshown, and with an inwardly tapering end surface 2D, which end surface2t cooperates with a splitA anchor ring 2i, having spaced apart endsur'- faces 22 (Fig. 2), when a cup-shapedv clamping nut 23 is tightenedon the threaded flange I8, the nut 23 having an opening 24 therein forreceiving the pipe I2. As will be apparent from inspection of Fig. l,and as is well understood by those skilled in the art', when theclamping nut 23 is tightened on V the flange I8', the anchor ring 2lwill be forced against the tapered sur'- faces' 2B so as to firmlyengage and support the pipe I2 at a point spaced from the threaded' endportion thereof. However, as previously indicated, even though sosupported the severe con ditions of operation encountered by air brakesystems often result in breakage of the pipe I2 at the line of weakness,asr indicated by the reference numeral 24 in Fig. 1. 1n order toy repairthe breakA or to replace the pipe I2 so as to restore the air brakesystem to proper oper ating` condition, it i's necessary in accordancewith prior art practices not only to remove the clamping nut 23 so as torelease the pressure ofV the anchor ring ZI on the pipe I2, but it isvalso necessary to remove all of the bolts I5 in order that the bodyportion IU and the broken pipe may be disassembled for repairvorreplacement.

In accordance with the present invention, however, permanent repair of'the fitting so as to provide a tightly sealed and satisfactory pipeconnection at the fitting I@ regardless of the break 24 may be effectedby employing a novel sealing gasket 25 of the type shown in Figs. 3 to6, inclusive. This gasket 25, as shown, comprises an annular bodyportion which is formed of resilient material such as rubber or the likeand which is of substantially the same diameter as the anchor ring 2'I.On one side thereof, the body portion of the gasket 25 is split along atransverse, obliquely extending line, as shown best in Figs. l and 6, soas to provide contiguous end portions 2G and 2l, which are normally inoverlapping relation but which may be spread apart due to the resilientcharacter of the gasket 25 so as to permit the gasket to be positionedover a pipe such as the pipe I2, for example.

Extending axially from the gasket 25 and preferably formed integrallytherewith is a gate portion 28 having a sufficiently narrowcircumferential length to permit insertion of the gate portion betweenthe spaced end surfaces 22 of the anchor ring 2|, the radial thicknessof the gate portion 28 being substanthe body portion of shown in crosssectially equal to the radial thickness of the body portion and theaxial width of the gate portion being at least as great as thecross-sectional diameter of the anchor ring 2|.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 6 and assuming that it is desired to repairthe break 24 in the pipe I2, it is necessary only to withdraw theclamping nut 23 and the anchor ring 2l from the fitting I0 by slidingthemV along the pipe I2, for example, to the respective positions shownin broken lines in Fig. 6. The resilient gasket 2.5V may then bedisposed around the pipe I2 by separating the end surfaces 26 and 2l,the gasket beingA positioned as shown in Fig. 6 in broken linesintermediate the anchor ring 2I and the fitting Ill. The resilientgasket member and the anchor ring, 2| are then assembled together sothat the gate portion 28 of the gasket member extends into the spacebetween the ends 22 of the ring 2I and the clamping nut 23 is thentightened down on the flange I of the fitting [El so that the partsassume the heavy line position shown in Fig'. 6. Upon tightening. of theclamping nut 23, the resilient gasket member 25 and the anchor ring 2lwill be compressed between the clamping nut and the tapered end surfaceson the ange I3, the nut engaging not only the outer circumference of theanchor ring 2i but also the outer edge of the gatev portion 2 of thegasket 25 so that resilient body portion of the gasket will be uniformlyforced into sealing engagement with the tapered surface 25 and the outerperiphery of the pipe I2 t -roughout the entire circumference thereof.It will thus be seen that the outer end of the tubular flange I8 will betightly sealed and consequently leakage ofv air from the ntting isprevented regardless of the breakin the pipe I2 at the pointA 24. Repairof broken pipes may thus be quicklyv and permanently effected withoutdisassembly of the pipe and the fitting or, ifv desired, improved ttingsincorporating the resilient split gasket and gate may be originallyemployed so as to eliminate the dangers of failure of the system due tobreakage of the pipe within the tting.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown, it willbe understood, of course, that the invention is not limited theretosince many modications may be made and it is therefore contemplated bythe appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A sealing gasket for air-pipe fittings cornprising a substantiallyannular body of resilient material, said body being transversely andobliquely split to provide contiguous overlapping end portions which areseparable to permit disposition of said body around a pipe, and a singlecircumferentially narrow gate portion having a radial widthsubstantially equal to that of said body and extending axiallytherefrom.

2. In a pipe tting of the type including an internally threaded body forreceiving a pipe and a split anchor ring having spaced apart ends landadapted to be forcibly engaged with an external diameter of said pipeupon pressure against an end of said body by a clamping nut threadedlyengaging said body, the combination of a sealing gasket comprising anannular body of resilient material, said body being transversely andobliquely split to provide contiguous overlapping end portions which areseparable to permit disposition of said body around said pipe betweensaid end of said fitting body and said anchor ring, and a gate portionextending axially from said annular body at a point substantiallyopposite said contiguous end portions for gating the space between saidends of said anchor ring, said gate portion having an axial width atleast as great as that of said anchor ring, whereby said gasket isuniformly forced into sealing engagement with said end of said ttingbody and said pipe by said anchor ring and said clamping nut.

JOHN R. VmGn..

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date Cook Aug. 16, 1892 Crabill May 2, 1899 Burns Dec. 26, 1922Hewitt May 1, 1934 Anderson May 22, 1934 Heeter Oct. 15, 1935 SkinnerApr. 5, 1938 Haury Sept. 26, 1939 Dick Sept. 4, 1945 Woodling oct. 26,194s

